Percussion musical instrument



L. J. JEFFRIES PERCUSSION MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed Jan. 16, 1941 Mardi17, 1942.

. INVENTOR Away JEFF/WES I UO 00W w M ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 17, 1942UNETE STTES ear T DFFICE PERCUSSICDN MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Leroy J.Jefiries, Eikhart, Ind, assignor to C. G. Conn, Ltd, Eikhart, Ind, acorporation of Indiana 3 Claims.

This invention relates to percussion musical instruments and moreparticularly to timpani in which the tension of the head can be Variedto adjust the tuning.

It has been proposed to provide timpani and like instruments with meansto vary the tension of the head by means of a foot pedal or hand leverso that the pitch of the instrument can be changed quickly. In somecases these have provided adjustment between two fixed positions onlyand in others toothed ratchets have been used to provide a variableadjustment by a series of fixed steps.

The present invention has for one of its objects to provide a timpano orthe like of simple and inexpensive construction in which the tension ofthe head can be changed in an infinite number of steps and which can bereleased to loosen the head quickly.

Another object of the invention is to provide 1 a percussion instrumentin which the head is held in adjusted position by a gripping deviceproviding an infinite number of adjusted positions and which can bereleased at will.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will beapparent from the following description when read in connection with theaccompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a central vertical section of a timpano embodying theinvention;

Figure 2 is a partial plan view on an enlarged scale of the pedalmechanism; and

Figure 3 is a central axial section through the clutch mechanism.

The illustrated timpano comprises a base ii) adapted to rest on thefloor and supporting a vertical tubular column l2 extending upwardlyfrom the base and clamped therein by a clamp I4. A bowl seat It issecured to the upper end of the column l2 by a clamp I 8 and supports ahollow body or kettle 20. The upper surface of the kettle is closed by avibratile head 22 which is secured at its edges to a flesh hoop 20surrounding the upper surface of the bowl. The flesh hoop is engaged bya flanged pressure ring 26 which carries a plurality of brackets bywhich the head is held in place on the kettle.

Brackets 3i complementary to the brackets 28 are secured at spacedpoints around the periphery of the kettle and pivotally support a seriesof hell crank levers 32. Each of the bell crank levers at one endcarries a nut member into which tuning pins 34 are threaded, the tuningpins passing through the brackets .38 for drawing the head tightly overthe upper edge of the kettle.

At its opposite end each of the bell crank levers 32 is connected to arod 35 passing through an opening in the kettle, all of the rods beingsecured to a common crown member 38 inside of the kettle. A pull rod 40is secured to the crown member 38 and extends vertically downwardtherefrom, terminating in a threaded end portion 42.

A pull rod extension 44 extends through the column l2 and is provided atits upper end with a rotatably mounted nut adapted to be threaded to theend portion 42. By this construction the pull rod can be disconnected sothat by loosening the clamp E8 the kettle can be removed from the basewhen desired.

A link 48 is pivoted to the lower end of the pull rod extension 44 andto a guide link 50 pivoted in the lower portion of the base. The guidelink 5!! is connected by a link 52 to a pedal lever 54, pivoted to thebase so that when the pedal lever is swung downwardly, the pull rod Mwill be pulled downwardly to increase the tension on the head.

In order to hold the pedal in any desired adjusted position against thetension of the pull rod, there is provided according to the presentinvention a second rod 56 pivoted to the base 10 and extending upwardlytherefrom. As best seen in Figure 2, the rod 56 extends between spacedarm portions 58, forming the lever 54 and through a collar 60 carriedbetween the arm portions 58. The collar 60, as shown in Figure 3,carries a sleeve 62, formed with an internal conical cam surface 64converging downwardly and through which the rod 56 extends. A pluralityof friction grippers shown as spherical balls 66 are loosely mounted inthe collar between the conical surface and the rod and are urgeddownwardly by a sleeve 68 and a spring 10 which is anchored in place bya strip I2 secured to the collar. In operation, the balls will grip therod 56 and will prevent upward movement of the collar relative theretowhile permitting downward movement of the collar.

In order that the balls may be released for raising the pedal to releasethe tension on the head, a sleeve 14 slidably extends through the lowerend of the sleeve 62 in a position to engage the balls 66. Normally thesleeve M is lowered to the position shown in Figure 3, and is adapted tobe raised by a toe-piece l6 pivoted on the outer end of the pedal andconnected by a rod 18 to a bell crank lever pivotally carried.

by the collar and terminating in a yoke portion 82 underlying the sleeve14. By tilting the toepiece clockwise, as seen in Figure 1, the collar'14 will be raised to engage the balls 66 and lift them to a position inwhich the cam surface 64 will not press them against the rod 56. At thistime the pedal will rise under the influence of tension exerted on thepull rod by the head 22 so that the tension of the head may bedecreased.

In normal use the head 22 is tuned to the lowest desired pitch by meansof the several tuning pins 34. If thereafter it is desired to increasethe pitch of the instrument, the pedal may be depressed to any desiredpoint and will be held at such point by action of the clutch mechanismon the rod 56, as described above. To release the tension and permit thehead to return to its original tuning, the toe-piece 16 need only betilted forwardly to release the clutch, at which time the pedal may risequickly to its uppermost position.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described indetail, it will be understood that this is for purposes of illustrationonly and is not to be taken as a definition of the scope of theinvention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A percussion instrument comprising a supporting base, a hollow bodysupported on said base, a vibratile head closing one side of said body,a pedal pivotally mounted on said base and connected to the head to varythe tension thereof, and means to hold the pedal and the head inadjusted position comprising a rod, a collar around the rod formed onits inner surface with a conical cam surface, a plurality of grippingmembers loosely mounted in said collar and engageable with said camsurface to be cammed thereby into gripping engagement with said rod, asleeve slidable around said rod into said collar to move said grippingmembers away from the cam surface, and a toe-piece pivoted on the pedaland connected to said sleeve to move it.

2. A percussion instrument comprising a supporting base, a hollow bodysupported on said base, a vibratile head closing one side of said body,a pedal pivotally mounted on said base, a pull rod connected to saidedal and having means connecting it to said head to vary the tensionthereof, a rod pivoted on said base, a collar carried by the pedalsurrounding the rod and having an internal conical surface, a pluralityof friction balls loosely mounted in the collar and engageable with saidsurface to be cammed thereby into gripping engagement with said rod, atoe-piece pivoted on the pedal, and a sleeve operated by said toe-pieceto move said friction balls out of engagement with said conical surfaceto release the rod.

3. A percussion instrument comprising a supporting base, a hollow bodysupported on said base, a vibratile head closing one side of said body,a pedal pivotally mounted on said base, a pull rod connected to saidpedal and having means connecting it to said head to vary the tensionthereof, a rod pivoted on said base, a gripping device carried by thepedal and engageable with the rod to hold the pedal in adjustedposition, a toe-piece pivoted on the pedal, and means operated by saidtoe-piece to release the gripping device at will.

LEROY J. JEFFRIES.

